Date: Thu, 05 Oct 2000 01:06:08 EDT
From: Dale E Wright
Subject: "The Lottery Winner" Chapter 15
Hi everyone...
Wow...people are actually reading my stuff. Thanks for the positive
responses. -- I'm even a nominee for
some slash-fiction awards! Vote for me please!!!!
(http://jump.to/nsync_stories or
http://www.geocities.com/sasha02.geo/award.html) I'm nominated in the
`Best Joey story' and `Best Slash Fiction'.
As always, Gabriella and Mike and Charlie are my main cheerleaders. I'm a
bit nervous--so if people could please e-mail me at bwicub@hotmail.com--I'd
really appreciate it. I love e-mail!!
DISCLAIMER: This is a fictional story that came right out of my own mind. I
have no knowledge if any member of N Sync are gay or whatever. That being
said, please enjoy the story and remember-- write me!!! (Especially write
me if you're a member of the group! GRIN)
--The Lottery Winner Ch 15--
I woke up slowly, with Joey in my arms. According to my alarm clock it was
about six o'clock. I pulled him to me and kissed his neck. It took a few
minutes of my nuzzling on his neck and rubbing his chest before he woke up,
but he turned over and kissed me on the lips. Our kisses were growing more
passionate, when we heard someone clear their throat by the door. I looked
over and saw Chris and Lance standing there, with big grins on their faces.
"Hi guys. You ready to join us or do you want to be left alone for awhile
longer?"
I just smiled at Lance. Turning to look into the eyes of my man, I kissed
the tip of his nose. "Come on sugar, time for me to play tourguide. You
hungry?" Turning to Lance and Chris, I told them to head back upstairs and
we'd be up after we shower. They laughed and headed up. I took Joey by
the hand and led him to my bathroom.
"Oh wow Dale, a clawfoot tub! I've always wanted to take a bath in one."
"Sorry sugar, we don't have time for that right now. A shower will have to
do." Nothing further was said as I turned on the water and pulled him in
behind me. We made love under the water, and it was so sweet and tender.
He took me, and I felt such love for this gorgeous man. Just as we
exchanged our loads someone pounded on the bathroom door.
"Dale! We're bored!!! Come entertain us!" Joey and I looked at each
other, and busted out laughing. For the first time in a long while, I felt
at peace. We got out of the shower and got dressed, heading upstairs I
heard Chris and Lance playing one of my PlayStation games.
Joey and I came into the living room just as Chris blew up Lance's
character. Lance threw the controller down in disgust.
"Hey Mississippi...you break it you buy it." He smiled at me and jumped
out of the chair. Taking me into a tight hug, he pulled me close.
"So, what do you guys want to do tonight? I can take you and show you a
couple of sights around the city if you want. Crap, almost forgot. Hang
on a second." I left the room to call my attorney about something we'd
talked about previously.
"Tom, it's Dale Wright calling. I want to implement the changes that we
discussed. Yes, I know it's risky. But it's what I want. Do I need to
sign anything else, or can you put the new statements in place right now?
You can? Great! Thanks Tom, remind me to give you a Christmas bonus." I
smiled and hung up. I went back in, and the three guys were arguing about
something. They shut up as soon as I entered. I walked up behind Joey and
wrapped my arms around him. I nuzzled the nape of his neck, and rested my
chin on his shoulder.
"Hey baby." He groaned and leaned back into me. We rocked slowly side to
side. Chris made gagging noises, so I flipped him off.
"So what's the plan boys? I can play Julie McCoy for you if you want.
Have you ever been to Baltimore before? I know that you've always gone to
DC for concerts."
"Are there any places we can go that we won't get mauled by screaming
fans?"
I thought about it for a moment. "Well, that cuts out Fells Point and the
Inner Harbor. Hey I got an idea! Come on boys, we're going for Mexican
food." Lance's eyes lit up at that, and even Chris and Joey were smiling.
We all went and piled into my SUV and headed to a part of town called
Hampden. There's a little Mexican place that some friends turned me onto
that I've been to a few times. The families emigrated from Mexico twenty
years ago and have the best food in the city (in my opinion). I pointed
out some of the random sights on the way to the restaurant, and we got
there in about fifteen minutes. I asked the hostess to seat us in the
back, so we wouldn't be as recognizable.
The food was incredible, just like I remember it. We had a great time.
The guys kept asking me if I was going to come back with them to San Diego.
They told me that Justin and JC had gone on with the bus and crew to San
Diego, but they had to fly back tomorrow afternoon. Finally Joey put his
foot down.
"Dale, if you don't go then I don't go. I will not be separated from you!"
He looked around to make sure no one was around. He put his hand over
mine. "I love you man, don't you get it yet. Nothing will change that. I
need you. I want to wake up next to you in the morning, and go to sleep in
your arms at night. I want to be able to wake up at night and see you
sleeping in the moonlight. I want someone who I can go for moonlit walks
on the beach with, or go party at a club. Dammit Dale!" Tears started
falling down his face, and he looked away briefly. He took a deep breath
and looked back into my eyes. "I've seen what my life is like with you
there...and I'll be damned if I'm going to give that up without a fight."
Chris put his arm around Joey's shoulder and hugged him.
"It's okay Joe." Joey smiled at Chris and excused himself for a few
minutes to go to the bathroom. Once he was gone Lance and Chris started in
on me.
"Dale, we can't go back without you. It'll kill him. Don't you love him?"
"Chris, you know I do." I sighed at him. "Okay, I'll go with you. I'll
just have to ask Dan to keep an eye on Loki."
The three of us talked about the logistics of my coming with them for a few
minutes. Joey hadn't come back yet, so I excused myself to go after him.
I went into the men's room, and saw Joey's sneakers under the stall door.
I knocked.
"It's me."
The door unlocked, and it swung slowly open. He was dabbing his eyes. He
looked at me then looked down. "Hey."
I walked in and closed the door behind me. I locked it, then took him in
my arms. I kissed him lightly, and wrapped my arms around his waist,
pulling him to me.
"Okay baby...I love you. I'll go with you."
His smile was like music to my heart. He whooped and kissed me
passionately. I smiled and unlocked the stall door. (Thank Goodness no
one had come in! Could you imagine trying to explain that???) We left the
bathroom and headed back to the table.
The rest of the dinner was pretty anti-climactic. I paid, and we all piled
into my Suzuki to leave. Joey sat next to me, and Chris and Lance were in
the back. He had my hand in his, and it felt so good there. Thankfully I
have an automatic, so I don't need to shift gears. We went down a side
street because I knew of a shortcut home. Construction diverted cars, so
we were shuttled through a seedy neighborhood by the construction signs.
The guys looked around nervously, and locked their doors. I didn't worry
about it, because I'd driven through the neighborhood before. We'd just
come to a stoplight, and were sitting there when I noticed a guy standing
by my door. Thinking it was someone trying to make money washing my
windows I told him no. I then noticed another guy by Joey's door.
"Um Dale..."
Lance got no further as the two guys pulled guns. Chris yelled out to
floor it. I stepped on the gas, and we'd just cleared the intersection
when I heard pops coming from behind us. My back window and the window by
my head shattered. For some reason I couldn't keep pressure on the gas
pedal. The car came to a stop. The one guy ran to my door and yanked it
open.
"Out of the fucking car!" I somehow got my door open and fell onto the
ground. The other three guys got out without saying a word. They handed
over their wallets and watches when the guys told them to. The two men
started getting into the car, when the one guy noticed my gay-pride rings
hanging off of the rearview mirror. He stopped and turned back.
"Fucking faggot." He raised his gun and squeezed off a shot. I felt
something slam into my chest. I screamed. Without looking back, they got
into my car and drove away. Joey and the others ran to where I was lying
on the ground.
"Dale, are you okay? Chris, find a phone and call 911!!" Chris took off
at a run. I remember lying there looking up at the sky. I saw Joey, he
was crying. He put his hands on the sides of my face. They came away
bloody. I tried telling him I was okay.
"Joe....I'm fine." I wanted to say more but I didn't have any energy. I
guess I passed out. I came to a few minutes later when I felt someone roll
me over onto my side. I couldn't help it...I threw up. Next thing I knew
I was being picked up and put onto something. When I saw the blue uniform,
I knew it must be a gurney from an ambulance. Great, another hospital. I
passed out again. When the ambulance took a corner fast and jostled me, I
woke up. I looked into Joey's eyes. I couldn't breathe with this oxygen
mask on. I kept trying to push it off, and the paramedic kept pushing it
back. I glared at her and then turned to Joey.
"Call mom. Please."
He shushed me, and put the oxygen mask back on my face. "Don't worry babe.
I will." He was crying. I hate seeing Joey crying. We arrived at the
emergency room, and I was wheeled in. I heard Joey answering questions
from the person who I thought was the registrar of the department.
I came to slowly, my head felt like it was about eighty times too big. My
eyes felt like they were full of sand. I groaned, and tried shifting in
bed. I was strapped down or something. I began struggling, when I heard
mom's voice.
Mom? When did she get here?
"mmmmmmmm." No, that's not it. Try again. "Mom?"
Suddenly her head was in my line of sight. She was crying. She lightly
stroked my cheek, and told someone to go get the doctor.
"Hey son, welcome back. Do you know where you are?"
"uh...ooh." COUGH COUGH COUGH. "Hospital?" She smiled and nodded.
"JOEY! Mom, where is he?"
She sat on the edge of my bed and took my hand in hers. "He's gone Dale,
I'm sorry."
"no." I fell silent, and closed my eyes. I felt tears streaming down my
cheeks. Mom fell silent as the doctor came in. He shocked me when he told
me that I had been unconscious for several days. Apparently I went into a
coma so my brain could heal.
Wait...my Brain??? That qualifies as a "what the fuck?"
That's when he showed me the x-rays. Apparently my skull had been grazed
by one of the bullets and then the flying glass had done a number to my
face. I had a mild concussion, which explains why my head felt so bad.
The doctor left, and mom did the strangest thing. She pulled a cell phone
out of her pocket. Mom hates those things!
"Hi it's Chris. Yeah, he's awake. Tomorrow? Okay. See you then." She
hung up the phone and kissed my forehead. "God Dale you had Deb and I
worried. Dan called us and told us about the carjacking. The cops have a
suspect in custody. Did the fucker really call you a fag? God I want to
kill him!" She squeezed my hand, and lapsed into silence.
"How long have you been here mom?"
"Oh, a couple of days. Wanted to make sure my baby was okay."
"Okay out with it. What gives with the cell phone? You hate those
things!"
"Oh, it's yours. I wanted to keep in touch with Deb while I'm here. I'm
going to get some soda, I'll be right back." She left the room, and a
nurse came in to change an IV.
FUCK, I hate hospitals. I asked the nurse if I could have my legs removed
from the restraints (have to figure out what the hell is up with these
things...what did I do?). She just smiled and removed them without any
conversation. Mom came back in about ten minutes later.
"Mom, why was I restrained? And what's this about a coma?"
"Oh it was spectacular Dale. You kept ripping your IVs out for the first
day or two. If anyone came near you they had a punch thrown at them.
Finally you stopped. According to the doctor that was when slipped into
the coma. They just forgot to remove the restraints once you stopped
acting up. So, why were you being so hellacious when you first got her?"
"I dunno."
Just then there was a commotion at the door. A younger man came in, with a
notebook in his hand.
"Miss Wright, is it okay for me to come in?"
Mom tensed up momentarily, then relaxed. "He's awake. You can ask him."
Mom sat back and let the guy come forward.
"Mister Wright? Hi my name is Greg and I work for GLAAD and I have a few
questions for you if you have a few minutes."
"Um...sure?"
"GLAAD has learned about your hate-crime attack. When the Baltimore Police
tried denying that it was a hate-crime we stepped in. Your case has gained
national attention. Would you like to make a statement now that you're out
of immediate danger?"
I sat there for a minute thinking about it. Then I sat up and told him I
would like to make a statement. It was short, sweet and to the point.
"Fuck off."
"Excuse me Dale?"
"That's Mister Wright to you. I don't know you so you don't have the right
to call me Dale. I was carjacked while driving home with friends in the
car. Yes, the man used the word fag before he shot me. But that had
NOTHING to do with me being attacked. They wanted my car and our
valuables. Next time, check your facts shithead." I lay back down in bed.
I turned back a few seconds later to see if he was still there. "Okay, you
see how this works is that you leave now. If you don't, I'm calling
hospital security and having you removed."
I curled up facing the wall. I heard mom telling the guy to leave again.
Finally she told me that he'd left. She got up and smoothed my hair with
her hand.
"Get some sleep my angel. I love you. Mamma bear won't let anyone hurt
her baby." I fell asleep to the sound of her talking to someone on my
phone.
I slept through the night, and woke up to the sound of someone talking
softly in the room. I groaned and turned slightly in the bed. I hate
sleeping alone now. I got out of the habit of it. I slowly opened my
eyes, and reached for my glasses and the glass of water on the bedside
table. I drank some water and slipped my glasses on. I looked over at the
window.
No...it can't be.
"Chris?"
He turned and looked at me. "Hey you. Glad to see you're still with us."
He wiped his eyes and came up to me and gave me a gentle hug." We broke
the hug, and he went and sat in the chair.
"Chris, are you guys okay?"
"We're fine. We had to go so we could do the concerts. But Joey and I had
a LONG talk with Johnny about some stuff. Speaking of which, Johnny wants
to talk to you." I must have looked scared. "Oh it's nothing bad Dale.
He just wants to clarify some things."
Just then, the door opened. And Joey came in.